The Asylum and Immigration Bill is T now at the commite sage and
will probably come back for the third reading at the end of February or beginning of March. So far there has been some lobbying of MP's and the government, but no high profile public campaign.
A public meeting called by the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR) last week was poorly attended and was apparently bereft of campaigning ideas other than for low-key lobbying of individual MP's and lobbying the peers when the bill has gone through the Commons.
The organisers made no calls for a mass lobby of Parliament, let alone a demonstration to protest against this draconian bill.
It would seem that NAAR activists are too demoralised to call for strong public protest, even though their tactic of polite lobbying has not borne much fruit in the past in terms of concessions or defeating any legislation.
Some activists and asylum seeker / refugee organisations however do feel strongly that should be a public protest, probably a mass lobby of MP's at Parliament, against this bill.
Given that 155 organisations signed a statement against the bill, it should be possible to ensure a reasonable turnout.
Readers are strongly urged to contact CDAS or NCADC if they would like to help plan and build such a protest.
It is hard for people to take in the idea that there can be anything left in asylum law to tighten up, as there have been so many asylum Acts in the last few years.
But this bill is a massive assault on the few remaining rights of asylum seekers, and also attacks other migrants, (the reduction to one tier of appeal applies to immigration cases as well as asylum cases, so established migrants will have lower chances of successful appeals, for example against refusal to allow a relative to come here.
The main damage is in Clause 10 which cuts the right of appeal to one tier, (to a renamed Asylum and Immigration Tribunal), with no right of further appeal to a higher court, including by Judicial Review. Andrew Wiard